


Come Fly with Me

by Multiple_Universes



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Cabin Pressure AU, Fluff, M/M, Romantic Comedy, everyone is a pilot, pilot AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-10-09 21:36:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10422282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multiple_Universes/pseuds/Multiple_Universes
Summary: Phichit and Yuuri work for a charter airline, the CEO of which is Celestino. One day they have to fly legendary pilot Victor Nikiforov who saved 232 passengers by making a miraculous landing. Can Yuuri get a date from him before the plane lands? And what will it lead to?Edit: Now with an epilogue





	1. St. Petersburg

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve seen a couple of pilot AUs floating around, but my brain always defaults to thinking about Cabin Pressure (the awesome and funny radio series from BBC Radio 4), so this is largely inspired by that.

“This is your captain speaking just to let you know that we’ve landed in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. Please keep your seatbelts fastened until I have switched off the signs. Thank you for flying Cialdini Air. We hope you have a wonderful day!” Captain Yuuri Katsuki turned off the passenger address system and smiled at his co-pilot. “Well, here’s another one, Phichit!”

The airplane taxied onto the airport apron where it came to a stop to let all of the passengers out.

The cockpit door opened and the CEO of Cialdini Air came in. This didn’t surprise either of the pilots since, Cialdini Air being a small airline consisting, in fact, of only two pilots Celestino frequently flew with them to make sure that everything went smoothly.

“Guess who has another job?”

“Does it start with a “u” and end with an “s”?” Phichit asked.

“Good guess!” Celestino’s voice boomed in the cockpit. “And it’s a special job too: we’re flying two pilots.”

“Why?” Yuuri asked. “Did something happen?”

“They need them over there right away. Something about pilots with food poisoning, I think. Anyway, be ready to fly in an hour!” Celestino turned away. “Oh, and don’t forget the flight plan. We’re picking them up in St. Petersburg.”

“Where are we taking them?” Phichit asked.

“Small town in Siberia: Yakutsk.”

“I’ll take care of the flight plan,” Phichit said.

“Thanks. I’ll grab us something to eat.”

 

They were halfway to St. Petersburg when Celestino came in again. “I’ve got the passenger list with me here.”

“Did they decide to add someone else?” Phichit asked.

“Oh no, I just thought you’d like this: we’re flying Victor Nikiforov today.”

“What?” Yuuri exclaimed, the blood draining from his face. “Victor Nikiforov? Really Victor Nikiforov? _The Victor Nikiforov_?”

“Yes. Do you know any others?”

“You’re not joking?”

“I’m serious.”

“Who’s Victor Nikiforov?” Phichit asked, watching the exchange like a tennis match.

“Only the most legendary pilot ever! He was flying to St. Petersburg when one of the fuel pumps failed, an engine shut down and he had to make an emergency landing on the Neva River! He helped pull all of the passengers out and saved 232 lives! No one has ever died on any of his flights! He’s the most respected pilot ever! They gave him a medal!”

Phichit laughed. “I’m sure he’ll give you his autograph, if you ask nicely.”

Celestino shook his head. “Just focus on this flight, okay?”

The pilots nodded.

 

Yuuri stood outside the flight deck with Phichit by his side, waiting to greet Victor Nikiforov and the other pilot.

“If I’d known, I would have worn my nice uniform,” Yuuri whispered.

“You have a _nice_ uniform? Isn’t this one nice?” Phichit tapped Yuuri’s sleeve with his finger.

Through the doorway they saw a car drive up to the plane. Celestino climbed out of it. Two Russians got out on either side in the back.

“He sure is young for a hero…” Phichit mumbled.

“That’s not him. The older one is.”

“That’s the one I meant! I thought he’d be at least 40 or 50, for some reason.” Phichit threw a sideways look at Yuuri and saw him blush. “Oh dear. Not just an aviation hero, is he?”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Victor was tall, broad-shouldered and handsome. He looked exactly like the kind of pilot you wanted pictures of in aviation magazines to reassure passengers that they were in safe hands. He even had that perfect smile and the uniform sat just right on him. He climbed up the stairs and shook them both by the hand.

“Thank you so much. It really means a lot to me that you’re doing this!”

He went into the cabin to take his place. His co-pilot followed him in without a word.

Phichit watched Yuuri stare down at his hand. “You’re never going to wash that hand again, are you?”

“Phichit!”

“Just teasing!” He elbowed his captain and got into the cockpit. Yuuri went after him and closed the door.

Several minutes of pre-flight checks later Celestino poked his head in. “We’re ready to go when you are.”

“Okay,” Phichit nodded. He looked at Yuuri. “Do you want me to fly her, Yuuri?”

“N-no, I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t have to be nervous, Yuuri. He’s just another pilot. Hey! I can go ask for his number for you.”

“No, thank you.” Yuuri sighed. “He’s way out of my league, anyway.”

“Don’t say that!” Phichit patted him on the shoulder. “You’re the youngest Captain I’ve ever met! That’s got to count for something!”

“Yeah, well…”

“Cheer up, Captain! It’s a long flight from here to Yakutsk. Who knows what might happen?”

The plane taxied to the runway, waited for clearance and took off. As soon as they finished their climb, Phichit resumed their conversation.

“Besides, who cares about looks? Everyone knows these days it’s all about what kind of person you are and you are the absolute best, Captain!”

Yuuri blushed. “Y-you really mean that?”

“Of course I do!”

There was a polite knock and the flight deck door opened.

“Celestino, agree with me. I was just telling Yuuri that –”

Victor stood in the doorway, a smile on his face and a tray with cups in his hands.

“Hello! Sorry, I got bored and made tea. Yuri fell asleep during takeoff. Do you mind if I keep you company? Your CEO didn’t look like he wanted to talk, so I came here.”

“Sure! Wait a minute,” Phichit said, taking the cups off the tray and handing one to Yuuri, “your co-pilot’s name is Yuri?”

“Yes, why?”

“What a coincidence! My captain’s name is also Yuuri!” He watched Victor get into the jump seat. “Yuuri Katsuki and I’m Phichit Chulanont.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Victor Nikiforov.”

“We know! Yuuri was just telling me about your bravery.”

“Oh, I… It was just that one time, really.” Victor blushed. “I-I… I should’ve left and let the rescue team get on with it, but I couldn’t. I think I was in shock.”

“Yuuri and I are very impressed. Right, Yuuri?” Yuuri just nodded. _Come on, Yuuri, don’t make me talk for you._

“I’m sure you would’ve done the same.”

“I doubt it,” Phichit said. “Yuuri might, but I don’t think I’m brave enough.” _Come on, Yuuri. Anything?_ “He landed us with a hydraulics failure once and _once_ in a terrible crosswind!”

Victor nodded. “Actually, um… I need more tea. Do you mind if I just slip out for a bit?”

“Sure.”

Victor left and Phichit rounded on Yuuri. “Well? Aren’t you going to say anything? Or do you expect me to do all the talking?”

Yuuri fidgeted. “I just think you’re wasting your time. He’s probably sick of talking about that accident. I’m sure the reporters annoy him about it a lot. And he obviously doesn’t care about me.”

“We need to work on your self-esteem, Captain.”

“Why? I’m just fine where I am.”

“Look, I’m not saying propose to him, I’m just…” He trailed off.

“What? What is it?”

“Oh my God, Yuuri!” Phichit grabbed Yuuri by the hands and then let go almost right away, remembering himself. “Can you imagine your wedding, though? Hey! If he says yes, I get to be your best man, okay?”

“Phichit! It’s not –”

“Promise!”

“Okay, okay! I promise!”

Phichit stared dreamily out at the sky. Small fluffy clouds drifted by. “You’d make a cute couple.”

“Phichit!”

“And Katsuki-Nikiforov sounds like a great last name!”

“Phichit! Stop it, please!”

“Hey!” He gave Yuuri a sly smile. “I bet he’s great in bed.”

Yuuri’s face, which had already turned red before those words, was almost purple. “Phichit! He could come back any minute!”

“He’s been gone an awfully long time,” Phichit whispered. “It’s not like he can get lost back there.”

“Oh no! We scared him off!”

“You know, maybe –”

The door opened and Victor came in. “Sorry I’ve been gone so long. I got hungry and went looking for something to eat.” He held up a tray of food. “Do either of you want anything?”

“I’m going to be right back,” Phichit promised and left the cockpit, giving Yuuri a discrete wink over Victor’s shoulder.

There was a short silence.

Yuuri continued to stare at the controls. “So, um –”

“Do you –” Victor said at the same time.

They stopped talking and stared at each other.

“You first,” Victor said. “I insist.”

“Um… What’s it like, working for Aeroflot?” Yuuri asked and immediately regretted not having something better to say.

“Uh…” Victor looked thrown off by the question. “Good, I suppose. Like working for any big airline, probably.”

“Oh.” Yuuri hunched his shoulders and wished desperately he could be somewhere else, anywhere else.

“What is it like working for a small airline?”

“Good.” He tried to think of something to add. “We only have two pilots and one airplane.” That pretty much covered it.

“So you’re the captain out of the two of you?”

Yuuri felt his face burn with embarrassment. “Y-yes.”

“Oh. Well…” Victor leaned against Yuuri’s seat and he felt it shift slightly. “I’m um… sure you’re a great captain.”

“Thank you.”

 _Phichit, please come back,_ Yuuri prayed.

This time the silence dragged out into something really awkward and Yuuri did his best to say nothing. If he opened his mouth now, he was certain he’d say something stupid.

Victor shifted his weight on the seat slightly. “Do you want to play a game?”

“A-a game? I’m… I’m flying an airplane!”

“It’s a verbal game, so you can still fly the plane while we play,” Victor reassured him.

“What’s the game?” _Oh great, I’m really bad at verbal games,_ he thought desperately.

“Rhyming journeys. You know… like Ryazan to Kazan.”

“O-okay…” He tried to think of something, but his mind was a blank.

“Or! Or! How about –”

The door opened and Phichit came in.

“–Vienna to Sienna!”

“What are you talking about?” Phichit asked, returning to his seat.

“It’s a game!” Victor explained. “You need to think of a rhyming journey.”

“That sounds fun!”

Yuuri spent 30 minutes trying desperately to think of something while Phichit and Victor listed cities after each other, as if they each had a map of the world in their heads. He felt slow and stupid. Victor and Phichit were getting along so well! They told each other funny stories while Yuuri sat in his seat, regretting everything.

Unable to take it anymore, he undid his seatbelt. “I’m going for a bit. I’ll be back soon.”

Victor was still leaning against his seat and Yuuri nearly fell on top of him, trying to leave the cockpit. He turned bright red, opened the door and embraced freedom at last. Or a relative and temporary freedom, anyway.

He walked through the cabin, intending to go to the back. Celestino was reading a paperback novel, while in the very back row the other Aeroflot pilot sat, wide awake and looking bored.

He turned at the sound of Yuuri walking by.

“Are you the Captain?”

“Y-yes.”

“Ever fly in Russia before?”

“Yes, of course.”

He leaned back in his seat, putting his hands behind his head. “You look really young for a Captain. How long have you been a pilot for?”

“Six years. You?”

“This is my first.”

“Were you always Victor’s co-pilot?”

“Oh, don’t you start!” He rolled his eyes. “ _Everyone_ wants to know about Captain Victor Nikiforov. Is he a great Captain? Is he secretly Superman? What is he like on early morning flights? What about evening flights? I’m sick of it!”

“I was… uh… just wondering if you had other captains,” Yuuri mumbled and congratulated himself on that save.

“Oh.” The Russian pilot stared at him in surprise. “Uh… no… he’s my first one…”

Yuuri smiled and held out his hand. “I’m Yuuri Katsuki.”

“Yuri Plisetsky.”

They shook hands. Suddenly Plisetsky tensed.

Yuuri turned around and saw Victor standing in the doorway of the flight deck. “Well, um… I need to go… fly the plane.”

As the door to the flight deck closed behind him he caught the other Yuri complaining about something to Victor in Russian.

“There you are!” Phichit exclaimed. “Victor was getting bored without you.”

“Was he? I thought you two were getting along just fine without me.”

“Aw! Don’t be like that! You just need to find something to talk to him about!”

The door opened, but this time it was the Russian Yuri. “I’m bored and I don’t want to talk to Victor.” He sat down in the jump seat. “Captain Yuuri, I wanted to ask you: have you been a captain long?”

“Almost two years.”

“Must be nice to give the orders.”

“I don’t really give orders.”

“If you don’t give orders, what’s the point in being captain?” Yuri scoffed. “If _I_ were the captain, I’d make Victor fetch me tea all the time. It’s the only other thing he’s good for.”

Phichit laughed. “Does he order you to get the tea?”

“No, he doesn’t order me around. Barely lets me fly the plane.” He leaned forward in his seat and said quietly, “I think I’m going to go be a military pilot. Civil aviation is _so boring_!”

“Surely, boring is a good thing in this case?” Yuuri pointed out.

“Of course, between you, me and the flight deck voice recorder.” Yuri tapped both pilots on their shoulders. “But –”

The door opened and Victor came in.

“Go away,” Yuri hissed at him. “Go make us tea, Captain Yuuri says so.”

Phichit suppressed a giggle.

“But I thought –” Victor began.

“We don’t want to hear about your heroics,” Yuri went on mercilessly. “Why don’t you take a nap? I’ll wake you up when we get there.”

“But –”

“Let Victor stay, come on,” Phichit cut in. “And _Captain Yuuri_ wants tea.”

“I’m okay, really,” Yuuri spoke up. “I’ll just – ah – focus on the flight.”

Phichit rolled his eyes.

“Does the Captain give me permission to stay, then?” Victor asked.

Phichit nudged Yuuri. “Y-yes.”

“Thank you.”

Behind the two pilots flying the plane, the two pilots who were technically passengers on this flight exchanged hostile looks.

“Can I have the jump seat? I am your captain,” Victor said.

“Not on this flight, you’re not.” Plisetsky leaned back with a mischievous grin.

“This is ridiculous. You’re acting like a rebellious teenager. What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”

“You’re just upset because I’m right.”

Victor stayed silent.

“Here’s a game –” Phichit began.

And then Celestino joined everyone at the front. “Is there a party going on I don’t know about?”

“No,” everyone said in unison.

“Sounds like a fun one,” Celestino teased. “Can I talk to you for a moment, Phichit?”

“Sure.”

They left the flight deck and Victor took Phichit’s place.

“Y-you can’t just –” Yuuri protested.

“That’s alright, I’m type certified on this kind of aircraft too.”

“ _Sure_ you are,” Yuri grumbled not quite under his breath.

“But you’re a passenger!” Yuuri said.

“I won’t do anything, I promise.”

“Are you sure you’re not going to get car sick in the passenger seat?” Yuri chimed in.

Victor ignored him. “So, Yuuri, how long have you been a pilot for?”

“Six years,” the Russian co-pilot answered for him, “and captain for two. Any other questions?”

Victor sighed. “How do you know that?”

“Because he told me.”

In the co-pilot’s seat Victor was sulking.

“Hey, Victor! If you don’t behave, we’re turning this plane around!” Yuri teased.

“Can I talk to you outside for a moment?”

Yuri pretended to consider this. “No. Oh! I can hear the co-pilot returning. Guess you better get out of his seat.”

Phichit came in, took in the sight of everyone and did the first thing that came to his mind: he took a photo with his phone.

“What –” Victor began.

“Blackmail material for later, obviously.” Yuri got up. “Is there any food?”

“Yes,” Phichit answered, pocketing his phone.

“Good,” Yuri nodded and left.

Victor gave up his spot to Phichit, leaned over Yuuri and said quietly. “I would love to be your co-pilot.” And went back to the cabin.

“Well! That was… That was… unexpected.” Phichit watched Yuuri’s face go through different shades of red. “I hope you’re enjoying all the attention.”

“I-I’m not… I’m not used to this.”

“Neither am I,” Phichit admitted. “But isn’t it exciting?” He eyed Yuuri thoughtfully. “I think you should go talk to him. You should have some time to yourselves while co-pilot Yuri is looking for food.”

“Alright.”

 

Yuuri found Victor sitting by one of the windows, staring out at the clouds in the sky as if they’d upset him somehow.

“U-um… I was just… um wondering, if maybe you wanted anything? We… uh have food and …uh… tea…” It sounded so terrible even to his ears that he stood there squirming mentally.

Victor turned his head and stared at him. Yuuri felt his mind go blank. What was he going to talk about? He couldn’t remember. What did people usually talk about?

“Do you… enjoy it… um being a pilot and … flying?”

“Oh yes! I still get excited at takeoffs!” He patted the seat next to his.

Yuuri sat down. “We’re a small airline, so we don’t get to fly so much and we definitely don’t get many proper passenger flights.” The words just tumbled out of his mouth, tripping over each other. “Usually it’s just a bit of cargo.” He sighed. “I would love to fly a large jet with lots of passengers, even if it is a big responsibility.”

“It’s not that great. You get the whole plane to yourself when it’s a cargo flight, but we always get the hijacking paranoia. And the screaming kids.” Victor shifted slightly in his seat. “You don’t get nice chats with the passengers either.”

“Ah! I’ve been gone too long! Sorry!” Yuuri rushed back to the flight deck.

“I didn’t mean –”

Yuri leaned over the back of his seat. “Nice going, Captain Smooth-Talk.”

“Don’t talk to me.”

“So do you try to flirt with all captains when someone else is flying the plane, or is this something new?”

“Be quiet.”

“Oh, but, _sir_ , what if there’s an emergency? I have to be able to tell _sir_ that there is one.”

“Leave me alone.”

“As sir commands.” He got up to move to the other side of the plane and then grinned evilly as a thought occurred to him. He opened his mouth, reconsidered it and kept going.

There were 10 minutes of peace and quiet and agonized thinking on the plane and then Yuri said as casually as he could:

“Do you think he keeps his CV on him?”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“What do you mean: CV?”

“Oh, I dunno… It just sounded to me like he was more interested in talking about flying than talking about you, that’s all.”

Victor turned away pointedly and stared out the window, as if he was expecting something exciting to happen outside. A couple of clouds floated by. “You’re just messing with me,” he mumbled, but was replaying the whole conversation in his head as he said it.

 “Yeah, sure, whatever.” Yuri moved to sit down next to Victor and asked in a whisper, “Look, why don’t you just ask him for his number, if you’re so keen on him?”

“I’m not –”

“You do know that subtlety is a concept you’ve never grasped, right?”

Meanwhile the conversation in the flight deck was moving along similar lines. It ended with Phichit persuading Yuuri to return to the cabin. The captain spotted the two pilots whispering to each other, turned around and went back. Phichit just shook his head.

“I bet,” Yuri whispered to Victor, not noticing the Captain’s brief appearance in the cabin. “I bet I can get a date from him.”

“What?” Victor nearly jumped out of his seat.

Yuri got up and walked onto the flight deck confidently. “Captain, I have a question for you.”

Victor trailed in behind him, opening and closing his mouth, unable to protest.

“What is it?” Yuuri turned around to look at him.

“We’re about to land in…” he peered at the instruments, “…15 minutes?”

“25,” Phichit corrected, curious to see where the conversation was going.

“Right. And I wanted to… thank you for getting us here. So why don’t you meet up with me after all the post-landing checks are complete for …what does Yakutsk have? Questionable tea, probably. Questionable tea, it is. Meet with me for questionable tea and a chat.”

Yuuri stared at him in surprise. “Uh… sure.”

Phichit turned away.

Victor made a noise that could have been a groan, or could have been a snarl.

Yuri nodded with a serious look on his face, grabbed Victor by the arm and dragged him off. “See?” he hissed. “Told you he’d say yes!”

“Yuri! How could you? You --! I know you’re dating that pilot from Kazakhstan!”

“I beat you! I beat the great Victor Nikiforov, the national hero!” He leaned forward tauntingly. “What will you do now?”

“You did that just to rub it in my face!”

“Of course!” Yuri straightened up. “He’s probably going to leave right after he arrives, just like we will. There goes your chance!”

“Yuri! Please! I’ll do anything!”

“I don’t want anything,” Yuri said, turning away and going to sit in the back. “I just wanted to prove that he’s more interested in me than in you and he’s not that interested in me.”

“Yuri!” Victor was almost crying as he followed him to the last row.

“Don’t talk to _me._ You’ve got 15 minutes left.” He tapped his wrist.

Victor almost screamed, but then the flight deck door opened and the captain stepped out.

“Heh.” Yuri slid forward in his seat to remain out of Yuuri’s line of sight. “I hope you have a folder ready,” he said just loud enough for Victor to hear.

Captain Yuuri stood with several papers in his hands.

Victor turned pale and froze on the spot, not having made it further than the second last row.

“I… um… wanted to…” Yuuri looked around. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” He walked past Victor and pointed at the galley. “We can talk there.”

They stood by the coffee maker, as if it was a fascinating museum exhibit.

“I um… wanted to ask you…”

Victor braced himself.

“Will you –” Yuuri took a deep breath, closed his eyes and uttered the next words really quickly. “Would you like to go for a drink with me sometime?”

Victor sighed and smiled. “Oh, thank goodness!”

Yuuri opened his eyes and stared. “What?”

“For a moment there I was worried you were going to give me your résumé.”

“Why?”

“Well, you were holding _that_ and asking about big airlines.” He nodded at the papers in Yuuri’s hands.

“This? Oh, it’s just paperwork for Celestino.” Then he stopped and considered the last few minutes of the conversation. “Um… You didn’t answer my question.”

“Didn’t I?” Victor chuckled. “How remiss of me! Yes! Of course!”

“Ah!” Judging by Yuuri’s face, he’d expected to be turned down.

“After your questionable tea with my co-pilot, of course.”

“But- but your flight!”

“That’s alright. It always takes them forever to prepare for us. I’m sure we’ll have some time to ourselves.”

Yuuri nodded and left.

Victor stared after him.

“You’re smiling,” his co-pilot muttered, pocking his head into the galley. “I take it the CV is really well-written.”

“The absolute best…” Victor said.

Yuri just rolled his eyes.

“This is your Captain speaking. We’re now beginning our descent into Yakutsk. Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts.”

“My Captain…”


	2. Yakutsk

A snowstorm and temperatures well below zero weren’t irregular occurrences in Yakutsk, but neither were they welcome ones. With all of the grounded airplanes and trapped people it was surprising that anyone would consider it lucky. There were, however, two people who thought it very lucky.

Captains Yuuri Katsuki and Victor Nikiforov sat in one of the bars, a drink in front of each of them.

“…so we take off and the warning light comes on!” Yuuri said, waving his arms to mimic the takeoff. “And, of course, we panic and just as I prepare to return –”

“It turns off again?” Victor exclaimed.

“It does!” Yuuri laughed. “Would you believe it? And then, 30 minutes later, back on it comes!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

They’d both had several drinks already, safe in the knowledge that neither of them was flying anywhere that evening. Yuuri’s face was slightly flushed. Victor’s eyes shone. He’d noticed how with each glass Yuuri got bolder. He’d also shifted his chair a little closer. They’d gone through funny stories and now got to the stories about things that annoyed them.

“I swear each time I decided to contact ATC that stupid thing turned off!” He was slurring his words slightly now.

Victor rested his elbow on the bar, cupping his chin in his hand. “So what did you do?”

“Flew the damn thing all the way of course! I nearly – Anyway, when we got down, we called in a mechanic. What do you think it was?”

“Faulty circuit?”

“Faulty lightbulb, goddammit!” He hit the bar with his fist.

Victor broke out into laughter. The locals at the bar eyed him angrily, but he didn’t notice anything.

“Okay, I’m bored of this,” Yuuri suddenly declared, pushed his drink across the bar and rose to his feet.

Victor stared up at him. _Oh no, don’t go now! Not when I’m having so much fun!_ “What- what do you want to do now?” He caught Yuuri by the hand without thinking.

“Surely there’s more to do than drink ourselves silly,” Yuuri reasoned.

He pulled Victor to his feet. The Russian captain stumbled, nearly falling on top of him.

“Er… I – ah! – Don’t think so…” He was suddenly aware of just how close the other captain’s face was.

“There’s a dancefloor in this bar. Don’t tell me no one ever uses it!” He dragged Victor to it, one arm suddenly around his waist and one arm grasping Victor’s so that it looked as if they were trying to dance without music.

Victor broke out into laughter. It wasn’t just the alcohol the whole idea was the most ludicrous thing ever!

“I-I don’t think it’s a dancefloor!” He managed to say between laughs. “God! I think- I think that’s a – it _is_! It’s a pole! Oh God!” His hands were on his stomach and it took all of his self-control to not double over with laughter.

“You mean for strippers?” Yuuri laughed back.

“Yeah!” Victor had to stop to take a breath. “You’re not –”

“Well, it’s not as if anyone is using it!”

“Wait, let me get my phone.” He fumbled in his pockets clumsily.

“What do you need that for?” Yuuri loosened his tie and tossed it aside.

 

The bleak light of dawn filtered in through the curtains. Yuuri turned over and looked at the time. It was 10 am. Yuuri sat up. He’d slept through most of the morning!

He climbed out of bed and realized he was still in his clothes. Hadn’t he changed out of them before going to sleep? He couldn’t remember.

He furrowed his brow, trying to remember something – _anything_ – about the previous evening. He’d gone to that bar with Victor, hadn’t he? He stuck his hands in his pockets, hoping to find something that would jog his memory. He pulled out a couple of bills.

That was odd. He didn’t remember putting them there earlier.

He found his phone. It was turned off. Oh, that was right! His battery charge had run out. He scrambled frantically for his charger, plugged it in and turned on his phone.

_Sorry we didn’t get a chance to say goodbye properly._ Victor texted. _Thanks for last night! I can’t remember the last time I had that much fun! I look forward to seeing you again!_

Yuuri felt the blood rush to his face. What had happened? He paced the room, clutching his head as if hoping that would help him gather his thoughts.

Nothing. A complete blank.

His phone rang.

“Ah!”

“Yuuri! Awake yet?”

“Phichit! What happened last night?”

“…A snowstorm?” Phichit laughed. “Okay, _what_ happened last night? Tell me everything! Did he keep you warm?”

Oh. Right. The last thing he remembered was how they’d snuck off in a taxi through the storm to a bar on the other side of town so they wouldn’t have to run into any pilots.

Damn.

“I- I can’t.” Oddly enough, he didn’t have a hangover. He wondered why.

“Oh, come on! What did you do? I’m dying to know! You know you can tell me anything!”

“No, I… I actually can’t. I don’t remember _anything_. At all. It’s just…” He waved his arm, looking for the right word, “…a blank.”

“Oooh! Sounds like you had a good time! Maybe bring me along next time?” _Yeah, if I want my photos all over the Internet, sure,_ Yuuri thought. “I had to deal with angry, whiny Yuri and that wasn’t fun at all, let me tell you!”

“Sorry…”

“So? Really? No memory? Nothing?”

“Nope.” And then something occurred to him. “Did they already leave?”

“Who?”

“V– the Aeroflot pilots?”

“Oh, you mean your boyfriend? Yep! Right at dawn. As soon as they got clearance they were off the airfield.”

“When are we going?”

“Good question, Captain! You up for a flight?”

“I-I think so.” Odd, he didn’t even have a headache…

“I’ll find Celestino and get us some catering. You take care of the flight plan.”

“Okay.”

 

Once they were airborne Phichit tried to tease the details out of Yuuri. “Do you _really_ not remember anything?”

“Nothing.” He blushed and fidgeted. “I…I… no, never mind.”

“What is it?”

“Nothing.”

“Sounded like _something_ to me. Come on, say it!”

Yuuri mumbled something.

“Oh, come on! Speak up! It’s just us and the voice recorder in here!”

Yuuri eyed the instruments as if expecting them to laugh at him. “I… got a text from Victor.”

“And what did it say?”

“He… uh…” Yuuri pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it wordlessly to Phichit.

“ _Well_ , Yuuri! I always knew you had it in you! What a shame you don’t remember anything!”

Yuuri’s face turned ever redder. “I… woke up in my clothes.”

“That doesn’t mean _anything_!” Phichit insisted.

“Maybe I should just ask him what happened,” Yuuri said, taking his phone back from Phichit.

“Are you mad? Imagine how that will sound! He just had the best night of his life and you’re going to ask _what happened_? He’ll be heartbroken!”

Yuuri didn’t know what to say to that.

 

Co-pilot Yuri sat next to Victor and eyed him warily. There was a very pleased smile on his face. It was there when they met up at breakfast that morning (and by Yuri’s standards breakfast had been so bad, it was nothing to smile about) and wouldn’t leave for the rest of the day. It was starting to terrify him.

What if Victor’s face was stuck that way?

“Oy! Do you want to maybe _stop smiling_?”

“Why?”

“Because it’s creeping me out. Why are you smiling, anyway?”

“Oh, no reason.” He was humming something now.

Yuri resisted the urge to punch him. It wasn’t exactly something you’d do to a pilot flying an airplane with you in it, at least not something you’d do if you wanted to get home in one piece.

Then he recognized the song as the sort of thing bars played late at night. What were the words again? Something about…

_Tainted love_

He sighed. This was going to be a very unpleasant conversation. “Where did you go last night?”

“You’re too young for this, Yuri.”

“ _Too young_? I’m 25, damn it!” _And, unlike you, I actually have experience in dating._

But he couldn’t get anything more out of Victor.

 

Victor’s closest friend was a pilot from Swiss Air who often appeared on the cover of the airline’s magazine. He was two years Victor’s junior, but often talked as if they were from a generation of old men who had seen it all and now had to make way for the young ones. Then he’d spot one of the said ‘young ones’ looking his way and wink suggestively. His name was Christophe Giacometti.

Chris listened to Victor’s story over dinner in a small restaurant in Basel. “I wish I’d been there!” He went through the photos on Victor’s phone. “You’re one lucky man. And so is he, come to think of it! Some of this could be blackmail material.”

Victor snatched the phone away.

“So, when will you introduce me? Or are you planning on keeping him all for yourself?”

“God, Chris! He’s a _pilot_! He works for an airline.”

“Yeah, right, like I will believe that! I’ve never heard of Cialdini Air and I heard you humming _Tainted Love_ while we waited for our food to arrive.”

Victor blushed. “He’s in his pilot’s uniform in the photos!”

“Yeah, as if that’s proof of anything.” Chris rolled his eyes.

Victor sighed and pocketed his phone. “The way he went on, I thought I was caught in a crosswind.”

“Hmm… we might need to work on your metaphors.” Chris finished his food and placed his knife and fork on the plate. “So, when will you see him again?”

“I don’t know. He’s over in North America now and I’m stuck on the European circuits again.”

“Well, if he _is_ from a charter airline, he’s bound to fly to Europe _eventually_. Besides, you’re a national hero, surely you can pull some strings and pick your flights?”

“I… uh… don’t know how to do that.”

“Oh, come on,” Chris fiddled with his fork. “Drop a hint in the right ear, that kind of thing.” He eyed Victor with just a hint of disapproval. “Use your imagination! I’d hate for you to be stuck pining all the time, when being in love suits you so much!”

“Y-you think so?”

“I can see it.” He prodded Victor’s shoulder with his finger. “It’s as if you’re 25 again. Makes me jealous.” He chuckled. “All a bit storybook, though, don’t you think? On a flight to the middle of nowhere to be a replacement pilot you get a handsome captain on the way. A snowstorm keeps you in the city and so you have a good time.” He frowned. “You’re not going to tell me you made it all up, are you?”

“Chris, please!”

“Alright! Alright! I’ll play along. Introduce us and I’ll admit he’s real.” He stared out the window at the people in the street. “And when you get married I want to be your best man!”

“M-married?”

“Your face!” Chris broke out into laughter.


	3. Frankfurt

“And that’s it for the post-landing checks,” Phichit said and climbed out of his seat. “So… where are you going on your second date?”

Yuuri coloured. “J-just staying in the airport. His flight is in 2 hours.”

“What? But that’s barely any time at all!”

They opened the door of the aircraft and one of the airport personnel stepped in. “Urgent delivery for Captain Yuuri Katsuki.”

“Delivery?” Yuuri repeated.

The worker stepped aside and Victor swept in, a bouquet of flowers in his hands. “Good morning!”

“G-good morning!” Yuuri took the flowers from Victor. “Thank you.”

“I’ll take care of things, Captain. Go and enjoy your date!” Phichit said, pushing Yuuri out of the flight deck.

“Ah! Thank you.”

Phichit watched them go and shook his head. Victor’s arm was on Yuuri’s back. He’d told Yuuri not to ask about that night, but he couldn’t help wondering what had happened.

 

The two captains sat in one of the airport cafes. Their hands were joined over the table. Victor slid his fingers over the knuckles of Yuuri’s left hand. “I wish you could fly with me.”

Yuuri just nodded. The bouquet lay on the table: seven big white roses. Yuuri wondered where Victor had gotten them.

They told each other meaningless little details of their day. Yuuri watched Victor’s fingers.

“And I saw a cloud that looked like a boat, but my co-pilot kept insisting that it looked like a house,” Victor was saying.

Yuuri lowered his drink and put his right hand over Victor’s. Victor paused for a moment and continued his story.

It was snowing lightly outside, each snowflake taking its time to reach the ground. Somewhere an open door or window was letting in a draft, but neither of them felt the cold.

Victor shifted forward in his chair and his knee bumped against Yuuri’s.

A voice announced flights boarding, last calls and called out names of passengers. All around them people were leaving, running away, going home, taking vacations, travelling for work, but at that table time stood still.

Victor glanced at his watch and got up with a sigh. “Will you walk me to the plane?”

“Yes.”

They only got as far as the gate before they had to say their goodbyes.

“Have a safe flight!”

“You too!”

Yuuri released Victor’s hand reluctantly and watched him leave. They waved several times at each other before Victor rounded a corner and disappeared from sight.

 

Pilots Yuuri and Phichit were getting ready for takeoff when the flight deck door opened and Celestino stuck his head in.

“Is someone going to propose or did I miss it already?”

They gave him blank looks.

“There is a lovely bouquet of white roses in the front row.”

“Oh, that’s from Captain’s boyfriend,” Phichit said.

“Really? Who? Anyone I know?”

“No one special, just that legendary pilot we flew two weeks ago.”

Celestino beamed at Yuuri. “Really? You move fast! When’s the wedding?”

“There’s no wedding –”

“No plans yet,” Phichit cut in smoothly. “Let’s wait for the summer, hmm?”

Yuuri’s phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out.

_Just flew into St. Petersburg. Let me know your schedule for next week._

“Ooh! What does he say?” Phichit grabbed Yuuri’s phone.

Yuuri watched Phichit type in a response. “What are you doing?”

“Arranging your third date. Don’t worry, I won’t write anything you wouldn’t write.” He hit send and returned the phone.

_Let’s meet in Verona next Thursday._

“Phichit! We’re not –”

“We are. Celestino told me while you were gone. Right, Celestino?”

“I did.”

Phichit stared down at the instruments. “And you’ll need something better than a bouquet of roses.”

“It’s not a competition!”

“No, but it will make him happy.” Phichit checked the instruments again and frowned. “I think we have a problem.”

“What is it?”

“Hydraulics failure.”

 

Phichit and Yuuri sat in the crew canteen while mechanics crawled over their plane. The bouquet was in a vase on the table.

“You should get a job with Aeroflot,” Phichit suggested.

“But I like it at Cialdini Air.”

“You really _do_ , don’t you? How many problems have we had with our plane? We’re a charter airline, Yuuri! We could go under any minute!”

Yuuri sighed.

“And you won’t have to arrange 30 minute dates that need both of you to fly from halfway across the world, fighting bad weather and flight delays. Think about it. You could fly together!”

“They won’t take me,” Yuuri said.

“Why not?”

“They have no job openings and it’s mandatory for pilots to be able to speak Russian.”

“So you’ll learn a new language. That’s not hard. Listen, maybe I can ask a friend for a favour –”

“It’s fine, really.”

“But Mila wouldn’t mind doing it, I’m sure. Besides, she’s flown with Victor before.” He saw Yuuri’s expression. “Of course I had to go and check! Actually, she’s flying to Verona next week, we might even see her!”

“But if I go, then Cialdini Air will cease to exist!” Yuuri protested.

“I’m sure that Celestino and I will think of something,” Phichit reassured him.

 


	4. Verona

In one of the small old streets of Verona was the kind of restaurant that appeared in postcards, complete with round tables outside and an overabundance of flowers (or, at least, in the summer months).

Two young men sat by the window, eating without much enthusiasm. It wasn’t that the food was bad (this was, in fact, one of the best restaurants, according to Phichit, who’d pulled in a few favours to get that booking), it was just that neither of them had much of an appetite at that moment.

They had four whole hours this time!

And so they booked a restaurant and rented a car.

They’d gone beyond words, beyond sharing funny stories, beyond telling each other the minutiae of their day and were now in the saying nothing and sighing stage.

The waiters exchanged looks as they passed them. They’d already put a candle on the table and a small vase with a single flower.

If the couple hadn’t been so busy staring at each other, they would’ve noticed that they knew two of the waiters. One of them was Phichit Chulanont, while the second was Aeroflot’s Mila Babicheva. Both pilots had known each other for a while and had many common interests. Their new common interest was to see the two captains settled happily together. They were pulling in favours left and right. Phichit had even resorted to several dark hints. He had a lot of material on people and – as it turned out – so did Mila. Suddenly Victor’s schedule for the following two weeks changed to match that of Cialdini Air, because he himself didn’t know how to make use of Chris’s advice.

The big winner in the current situation was the restaurant’s owner: he’d gotten two waiters for free and two well-paying customers who were easy to please. His only task was to make sure that the only music played that evening was of the soundtrack-to-love-movies variety.

“Let’s go,” Yuuri said after a while.

Victor called a waiter over for the bill. He handed his card to Phichit, his eyes still locked on Yuuri’s. Once he finished paying, he got up and held Yuuri’s coat for him. The gesture turned into a hug.

Mila and Phichit watched the door close behind them.

“Well,” she said, her eyes twinkling happily, “If ever I doubted the existence of true love, I definitely believe in it now.”

Phichit just nodded. “I don’t know how long we can keep this up for, though.”

“They’ll have to sort it out eventually.”

“Speaking of which, are you leaving Aeroflot? I heard you were going to Alitalia to be with that Italian pilot.”

Mila laughed. “Where do you get these rumours from?”

“That’s a secret.”

 

Yuuri and Victor sat in the car. They were in the parking lot of the car rental company and they still had an hour. The car radio was on and they sat without saying a word, as if their lives depended on them listening to it.

_Sento una voce che piange lontano_

_Anche tu, sei stato forse abbandonato?_

_Orsù finisca presto questo calice di vino_

_E inizio a prepararmi_

_Adesso fa’ silenzio_

Victor unfastened his seatbelt and leaned over Yuuri. He took Yuuri’s face in his hands and kissed him. Yuuri raised his hands and placed them on Victor’s back.

_Con una spada vorrei tagliare quelle gole che cantano d'amore_

_Vorrei serrare nel gelo le mani che scrivono quei versi d'ardente passione_

_Questa storia che senso non ha_

_Svanirà questa notte assieme alle stelle_

_Se potessi vederti dalla speranza nascerà l’eternita_

Yuuri’s fingers trailed upwards to Victor’s shoulders and stayed there. Outside the sky darkened and streetlights started to turn on one by one.

_Stammi vicino, non te ne andare_

_Ho paura di perderti_

Victor pulled away. “Sorry, I got carried away.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Yuuri whispered.

They sat in embarrassed silence, avoiding eye contact. A plane flew overhead, its engines briefly drowning out the sound of the radio.

“Let’s go,” Victor said quietly.

 

This time goodbyes were hard. Yuuri followed Victor onto the airplane (which wasn’t strictly allowed, but Victor managed to negotiate it). At another time Yuuri would’ve been interested in the cockpit and the controls, but none of that mattered anymore. He exchanged a brief greeting with the Russian Yuri and stayed with Victor through half of the checks.

“Wednesday,” Victor said, holding Yuuri by the hands. “Promise me.”

“I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (On a not related note I want to write a Mila/Sara fic but I have zero ideas... so some suggestions would be welcome!)


	5. Cancelled

Wednesday came and found Yuuri in Helsinki’s Airport, standing in front of an information screen. The Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Helsinki was delayed by 15 minutes. That was alright, they had three hours.

The display updated.

_Delayed by 30 minutes_.

Yuuri felt his heart sink. He knew this situation too well.

Every 15 minutes the display would update with a further delay. There were no calls or texts from Victor. Whatever was happening, he couldn’t find the time to contact him.

There was nothing to do but to return to his airplane and prepare for the next flight.

 

“Attention passengers, the Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Munich has been delayed by 15 minutes.”

Yuuri sighed. Another delay.

“Attention passengers, the Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Munich has been cancelled.”

_What?_

He called. It didn’t matter if it was the wrong thing to do.

“– I can’t explain – oh! Hello, Yuuri! Can you believe it? Cancelled!”

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, yes. I don’t understand why they cancelled my flight. Everything is fine! Listen, I’m sorry, I can’t talk right now.” And the line went dead.

They later said it was a terrorist scare. One of the passengers had something suspicious in their luggage and they felt they needed to go through everyone’s things to be sure.

 

Boston’s Airport was crowded with angry people. Half the flights were cancelled and others were rerouted to other airports. Victor sat in the crew canteen alone and stared out at the fog.

 

Zurich Airport wasn’t to blame. Someone changed their mind last minute and someone else had a delayed connection. Aeroflot’s flight from Moscow to Zurich was 15 minutes late. Cialdini Air’s flight was moved to an earlier time slot all of a sudden.

 

Yuuri felt betrayed. It wasn’t Victor’s fault, he knew, but he couldn’t help the feeling. It was just one cancelled date after another. He sat in the arrivals area with his head lowered. He even had flowers this time.

“I warned you,” Phichit said. “Are you really sure you want to keep dealing with this? Sure, it’s mostly the winter being difficult, but it’s what happens.”

Yuuri sat still without saying a word.

“Go to Aeroflot, Yuuri. We’ll be fine without you. At least this way you’ll be stuck somewhere together.”

“But I like what we have,” Yuuri said.

“If you’re sure.” Phichit shrugged. “From where I’m standing, it doesn’t look like you have much.”

“Only 10 minutes at this rate,” Yuuri sighed and got up. “They won’t take me anyway…”

“You won’t know until you try.”

And then the plane landed and Yuuri prepared himself for 10 minutes of bliss.

Bliss happened in a small airport cafe. Or, rather, didn’t happen.

“I can’t do this anymore,” Victor said. “I need you by my side all the time, Yuuri, quit your job, come fly for Aeroflot with me.”

“What? But Phichit and Celestino are counting on me!”

“By the sounds of it, you don’t have long left. That plane is falling apart! How can you even fly it?” He clutched Yuuri protectively. “I won’t let you risk your life like this!”

Yuuri freed himself with more force than he’d intended to use. “Stop it! I will be fine! That’s what checks are for! Why do you have to be so selfish?”

“Selfish? I thought you’d want to spend more time with me.” He looked away. “But now I see I was wrong. This just proves that you don’t really love me.”

Yuuri stared and then turned and ran.

“Yuuri!” Victor shouted after him, but it was too late.

 

Phichit took one look at Yuuri and saw everything. “You had a fight, didn’t you?”

“I just can’t believe he can be so unreasonable! Doesn’t he understand?” _I thought he was better than that._

“Is this –”

“He wants me to join him and fly for Aeroflot, but I can’t do that. Cialdini Air will go bust!”

“I keep telling you: we’re pretty much dead already.”

“But I don’t want to be the final nail on the coffin!” And now the tears came. “And he said… he said…” He couldn’t continue. He put his hands on his face. He just couldn’t repeat those words.

_It just proves that you don’t really love me._

How could he say that? How could he drop words that cut him like a knife?

“Listen, Yuuri, you’re being unreasonable and really stubborn. Something has to give. You can’t go on forever like this. You can’t just meet up for a brief talk and leave. You need to settle down eventually.”

“But what if I like things the way they are?” He was almost shouting now. He’d never raised his voice like this before, especially not at Phichit.

“Do you?” Phichit asked, ignoring the shouting. “Is this what you want? A long distance relationship?”

“I…” He stopped as realization struck. “No… I… I want more.” He pulled his hands through his hair. “Oh God, _how_ I want more! I tasted something amazing last time, I can’t just…”

Phichit refrained from commenting on that. “Then do something about it.”

“But I can’t let you go under because of me!”

“We’ll just find a replacement pilot. Hey! Maybe I’ll finally get to be captain. Come on, Yuuri! Be selfish for once. Or, if not selfish, then think of Victor. It’s tearing him apart!”

“You’re right. I just –”

His phone rang. “Victor, I’m sorry! …No, it’s my fault! …No, you’re _not_ being unreasonable, I am… What? No! I don’t want you to! You don’t have to do that!”

Phichit shook his head. It sounded like they were about to have another fight.

“No! You know that I care!” _Say it, just say it,_ Phichit thought. “I’ll work it out. I promise. Really, really promise… Please bear with me… I know I’m not a good person.”

Phichit watched as Yuuri went silent and his face reddened. He snuck a photo and decided that no matter what Victor was saying, it couldn’t beat what he’d thought of.


	6. Moscow

“Do you fly to St. Petersburg often?” Yuuri looked up from the book in his hands and into Victor’s smiling face. “I would’ve taken the Amsterdam – St. Petersburg route earlier, if I’d known it had such handsome passengers!”

Yuuri blushed. “Y-you don’t need to tease me like that!”

“I’m just glad I can return the favour. I hope you enjoy your flight.” He held out his hand and Yuuri took it in both of his. Victor leaned down over him. “I was so surprised to see your name on the passenger list!”

“Do you always go through it?”

“Of course! I want to know who I’m flying.” Victor’s smile broadened. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you out of your uniform before!”

Yuuri brought Victor’s hand to his face. Victor leaned closer and kissed the top of his head. “I can’t wait. To be able to finally take you home like this…”

Yuuri blushed.

Victor pulled away and returned to the flight deck. Yuuri was suddenly aware of the attention the other passengers were giving him. He’d completely forgotten what it was like to fly on a regular flight as a passenger!

“You know the Captain?” his neighbor asked.

“Yes. I’m a pilot too.”

“At first I thought you were married, but then I noticed – no rings.”

 

Victor sat down on the sofa in his apartment and called Yuuri over. They sat on the couch and watched the first movie Victor found on TV. Their bodies were in a tangle of limbs, so that at first glance one could mistake them for a two-headed, four-armed and four-legged human.

The movie was really boring and Victor fell asleep in the first 10 minutes, his head using Yuuri’s shoulder as a pillow. Yuuri felt himself nodding off throughout the whole thing. He couldn’t find the energy to get up and turn off the TV.

 

When he awoke the next morning he was still on the couch with Victor and the TV was still on. He disentangled himself carefully, turned off the TV and went to brush his teeth.

By the time Victor woke up breakfast was ready and the table was set.

“Good morning!”

“Ah! Yuuri,” he smiled sleepily. “There’s the face I want to wake up to every morning.”

Yuuri blushed.

“Kiss me,” Victor said. “I don’t think I have the energy to get up.”

Yuuri kissed his forehead. “Come on, breakfast is waiting.”

“Hmmm… 5 more minutes, please,” Victor closed his eyes.

“But the train to Moscow isn’t going to wait.”

 

They went to Moscow for Victor’s outgoing flight. This time he would take Yuuri to Rome. The flight wasn’t until late in the evening and Yuuri told Victor he had some business to take care of for Cialdini Air, so they arranged to meet at the Red Square.

The Red Square was packed with people as usual. Yuuri sighed and pulled out his phone.

“Excuse me,” someone walked into him and he spun around to see Victor.

“Ah! There you are.” He leaned down and kissed Yuuri on the cheek. “How did it go?”

Yuuri blushed. “Who told you?”

“Told me what?” Victor gave him a blank look.

“But you just – oh!” Yuuri fidgeted nervously. “I… um… finished everything I needed to… do.”

“Let’s go skating!” Victor exclaimed and pulled Yuuri towards the ice rink. It was packed, but Victor had bought tickets ahead of time.

They rented a pair of skates each and exited clumsily onto the ice.

“I don’t think I –” Victor lost his balance and Yuuri caught him. Victor’s head hit his chest. “S-sorry.”

“Hold my hand,” Yuuri said and they did their best to follow the other skaters around the perimeter.

They fell over several times and then laughed themselves silly, trying to get up.

“I haven’t skated since I was six,” Victor admitted eventually.

 

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen! This is your Captain speaking! I’d like to welcome you on board this Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Rome! Tonight’s flight is a special one because one of the passengers is the love of my life!”

Yuuri nearly jumped out of his seat. Some of the passengers laughed. Those among them who had seen them talk to each other turned to look at him. He sunk into this seat, uncomfortable with all of the attention and wishing desperately to vanish into the cushions.

After the climb and ten minutes of level flight Victor dropped by for a visit.

Yuuri wondered how to tell him that people were watching them when he saw Victor’s smile.

“I don’t think I’ve said it,” Victor said and his face turned red. “I love you, Yuuri.” His fingers brushed against Yuuri’s cheek. “If Aeroflot doesn’t take you, I’ll quit my job and we’ll find an airline that will take both of us.”

Yuuri stared up at Victor, feeling light-headed. He forgot all about the other passengers.

Someone grumbled loudly in one of the rows behind him.

Victor leaned down and whispered, “I need to go fly the plane, but I will see you soon.”

Yuuri watched him go, his mind a blank.

Slowly the penny dropped. Victor had confessed and Yuuri had said nothing!

He spent the rest of the flight agonizing over this. He remained in his seat after the plane landed and everyone got up to go. Only when it was completely empty did he rush to the flight deck.

Victor was deep in conversation with his first officer who was a pilot Yuuri had never seen before. They were speaking in Russian, but from a few words Yuuri guessed they were discussing the plane.

“Is something wrong?”

“Yuuri! Can you wait for me, please? I need to sort something out with my first officer.”

“Do you need my help?”

“I think we’ll be fine.”

He waited in the corridor, wondering what had happened. He felt the anxiety build up inside him, almost making him ill. It was piling up on top of the worry he’d felt after his appointment in St. Petersburg and the second one in Moscow.

When Victor joined him he was all smiles and waved the incident off as not important. “Just strange instructions from the airline. I’d rather not talk about it.”

Yuuri’s flight was a mere 30 minutes away and they spent that time getting across the airport to Cialdini Air’s airplane.

They stood in the airfield by the airplane as the cold wind blew around them. Victor tucked a lock of Yuuri’s hair behind his ear.

“I want to spend more time with you. Tell me when and where I will see you again.”

Yuuri reached up and kissed him. Victor enveloped him in a hug. Then he pulled away and whispered something in Russian.

“What did you say?”

“Parting is a little death.”

Yuuri buried his face in Victor’s chest. His heart was racing. All of the worry he’d felt earlier returned, accompanied by dread. Why had Victor said those words? The fear he felt poisoned their last minutes together.

He pulled away reluctantly. Victor followed him up the steps to the door where he caught Yuuri in another embrace. For the first time in his life Yuuri didn’t want to fly anywhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter left! And then it's onward to more bizarre AUs and maybe another road trip story.


	7. Tokyo

Phichit watched Yuuri prepare himself mentally for another flight. The airplane stood at the end of the runway, waiting for the word from air traffic control.

“CIAO2 you now have clearance for takeoff,” one of the air traffic controllers told them.

Phichit stared down at the controls and willed himself to concentrate on the flight even if Yuuri was the pilot in control for the takeoff. He did his best not to think about their cargo as the airplane climbed to cruising altitude. He’d arranged everything as per Yuuri’s request. The idea had surprised and really pleased him. But now he was really nervous.

They had to get the timing just right. That meant that they were at the mercy of the weather and their airplane once more. He had to hope that Victor’s flight would make it over there in time. There were too many factors outside of his control. He wondered what was going through Yuuri’s mind and snuck a look at his captain’s face.

Yuuri was calm. He flew the airplane as if it was just another flight with a team of drunk cricket players or a winy millionaire in the back.

“Should be clear skies in Tokyo,” Phichit said, finally breaking the silence.

Yuuri smiled. “And clear skies in Moscow.” Then he sighed. “He’ll probably be tired after the Moscow-Tokyo flight. Maybe –”

“Yuuri! You can’t back out now!” Phichit exclaimed. “You owe him, remember?”

“I’m not backing out.” He switched on the autopilot and pulled his hand through his hair. “He might get suspicious, though, when he sees the passenger list.”

Phichit shook his head. “I’m surprised he reads that. Don’t worry, they know what to say.” He gave Yuuri a brief pat on the shoulder. “We’re all behind you, Yuuri.”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

Phichit smiled. “I’m just surprised you thought of this and not me.”

 

Victor stared at the passenger list in confusion. Behind him Yuri Plisetsky sat in the jump seat. He was going to be the relief pilot on their flight to Tokyo. Their first officer was Georgi Popovich, who barely ever flew with Victor. Mila Babicheva was usually the first officer with Victor on long haul flights, but she’d handed in her resignation and joined Alitalia two weeks earlier.

“Are you trying to memorize that list, Victor? Will there be a test later or something?” Yuri asked.

“Why are there so many pilots on this flight?” Victor mumbled.

Georgi exchanged a look with Yuri and then turned back to the controls. “There’s a pilot convention tomorrow,” he said. “I’m ready for pre-flight checks, Captain.”

“Pilot convention? I didn’t know they were having pilot convention here!”

“Last minute rescheduling,” Yuri said. “You should come too.”

Georgi burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh, he’s probably just imagining the speech you’ll give to all of your pilot fans,” Yuri said coldly.

Georgi laughed harder at this.

“Pre-flight checks, first officer,” Yuri reminded him. “The _passengers_ want to get to Tokyo on time!”

 

It was a hectic day at Tokyo air traffic control. One of the workers there, Minami Kenjiro, sat with his eyes fixed on the screens where lots of dots represented all of the various airplanes coming and going in the Tokyo airspace.

“Ground to BOE635. Go into a holding pattern around the airport.”

“BOE635 to ground. Roger holding pattern. Please advise what the reason for the holding pattern is.”

“Ground to BOE635. Have a flight coming in with a high priority. Should be landing soon.”

He hoped that no one would realize he’d just let one flight ahead of several on what seemed like whim. Phichit had promised him Victor Nikiforov’s autograph. Minami blushed. He hadn’t had the courage to ask for the autograph that he really wanted.

(Much, much later when the autograph did come it wasn’t just one but two and both people had signed a photograph of them together.)

 

Victor walked through the airport, feeling lonely and tired. Like always, he wondered where Yuuri was. The other captain hadn’t told him his itinerary for that week and he was starting to worry that it was all over. Yuuri had been strangely quiet and Victor waited anxiously for more texts. Was he supposed to ask Yuuri how he was doing or was he getting too clingy and annoying? What was he supposed to do?

Chris had been on his flight. He should’ve asked him for advice. Georgi had kept him on the flight deck for most of the flight until Yuri came in to relieve him. They’d cycled through to make sure to stay within their hours. Now he had a whole day in Tokyo with nothing to do.

There was a small café and Victor imagined sitting there with Yuuri. They’d barely had any time together, but he _knew_ – he just _knew_ – he wanted to spend his whole life with the captain of Cialdini Air. What did Yuuri think about that?

That question froze him to the spot and he was suddenly very afraid.

Was it all over?

“Attention passengers!” Victor snapped out of it at the sound of a familiar voice over the public address system. That was Phichit, Yuuri’s co-pilot! “I have an urgent message for Captain Victor Nikiforov.” He felt his heart sink. Urgent messages were never good in his experience. “Please make your way over to gate B36 at once. Thank you and have a good day!”

People went on as if nothing extraordinary had happened.

Victor panicked and ran. Stopped. Realized he’d gone in the wrong direction and studied a sign before running again.

_Yuuri!_

The gate was empty and open. He ran on without stopping to think. There was an airplane at the end of the passage and – used to going into aircraft without being questioned – he pressed on and into the flight deck without thinking.

It was empty. Almost empty. The flight deck was full of orchids. The floor was completely covered in pots of the flowers, as were the seats. Only the instruments had remained free of flowers.

Victor stared in confusion. He was about to back out when he heard a piano playing, followed by a familiar voice singing:

“ _When a moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie_

_That’s amore!_

_When the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine_

_That’s amore!_ ”

“Victor.”

He turned at the sound of his name and saw Yuuri standing right behind him. He was alright. He was smiling. He was… wearing an Aeroflot uniform!

“What…”

Yuuri took his hands as Chris’s voice continued singing:

“ _Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling_

_And you’ll sing "Vita bella"._ ”

“Victor,” he smiled wider.

“What’s… all this?” Victor asked.

Yuuri stepped closer, blushing. “I… I love you, Victor.” He stared down at the floor for a moment and then raised his eyes again. “I… uh... I’m with –”

Suddenly a whole group of voices joined in.

“ _When a moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie_

_That's amore!_ ”

Yuuri’s face turned redder. He spun around and strode into the cabin. Victor followed him.

Some of the seats had been removed to make room for a piano. Chris sat in front of it, accompanying himself as he sang. Next to him Phichit and Celestino joined in as well.

“You guys!” Yuuri exclaimed.

“Hello Victor! Fancy meeting you here!” Phichit said. “Chris was just showing us how well he can play the piano. Fascinating, isn’t it?” Then he smiled at Yuuri and tapped his wrist with his finger.

Yuuri grabbed Victor’s hand and rushed out back to the airport. He slowed down once they were back at the waiting area by the gate and headed for the windows. Victor stared at Yuuri, too confused to follow what was happening.

Yuuri stopped by the windows and stared outside, as if expecting something. Victor followed his line of sight.

Several airplanes took off and drew out shapes in the sky. The contrails spelled out the words “I love you Victor”.

“It’s really silly, I know…” Yuuri whispered, “but I was worried I wouldn’t be able to say it.” He took Victor by the hands and stared into his face. “I got a job at Aeroflot, so… um… if you still want to fly with me…”

“Of course I do!” He pulled Yuuri into a kiss.

 

It was warm and sunny in Tokyo that day. The first day of spring was full of birdsong and blooming trees (if not at the airport, then at least in parks throughout the city).

The airplanes responsible for the impromptu air show returned to the ground. Yuri Plisetsky walked between Mila and Otabek Altin from Air Astana. Sara Crispino from Alitalia held Mila’s hand, a big smile on her face. Georgi Popovich walked on Otabek’s other side. If it hadn’t been for the different uniforms and the absence of flight attendants, it would’ve looked like a typical airline commercial.

“We should start our own airline,” Mila said.

“We don’t have enough money for that,” Sara pointed out.

“I’m sure we can think of something.”

“What will you call it?” Yuri asked. “I’m not joining an airline with a stupid name!”

Mila laughed. “Just for you we’ll call it Air Yuri. Come fly the friendly skies with Air Yuri!”

Yuri rolled his eyes.

“I like that name,” Otabek said with a nod.

“Phichit Air!” a voice called out and they were joined by Chris and Phichit.

“Where are the lovebirds?” Mila asked.

Phichit pointed at a window that showed one of the runways and where Cialdini Air’s only airplane could be seen taking off. “Going for a quick flight.”

“Why didn’t they just go to a hotel?” Mila wondered aloud.

“Because Victor doesn’t know how to do things like a normal person,” Yuri explained and took Otabek’s hand. “We’ll see you all later.”

“Oh yeah! I wanted to go shopping!” Mila remembered.

“Then let’s go,” Sara pulled her towards the exit.

“See you around,” Georgi said and walked away.

Phichit smiled at Chris. “I’ll see you later. I have some sight-seeing to do.”

“Enjoy.”

Chris watched Phichit go and turned to look out the window. He couldn’t see the airplane anymore.

“Hey!” Phichit exclaimed, rushing back. “Why don’t you come with me? Or do you have a date?”

“No, I’m free for the rest of the day.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and followed Phichit. “I want to hear all about your previous captain.”

 

Somewhere in the sky a dot that was really an airplane flew at what felt like a leisurely speed. Two pilots sat at the controls, surrounded by orchids.

Victor was humming something under his breath. Yuuri kept his eyes on the instruments.

“ _Come fly with me_ ,” he whispered, “ _Let’s fly, let’s fly away._ ”

Victor continued to hum the song as a smile spread over his face.

“ _If you can use some exotic booze_ ,” Yuuri’s voice was slightly louder now, “ _there’s a bar in far Bombay_. _Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly away._ ”

Victor waited for several seconds later before joining in.

“ _Once I get you up there_

_I'll be holding you so near_

_You may hear the angels cheer_

_Just because we're together_.”

Without taking his eyes off the controls, Yuuri reached out and took Victor’s hand.

“Where are we going?”

“Anywhere. It doesn’t matter where.” Together they added, “as long as it’s with you.”

Imagine a plane flying through the sky with no passengers and only two love-struck pilots for a crew. Imagine a flight deck packed with orchids and a cabin with a single strapped-down piano. Imagine the smiles on the pilots’ faces as they turn the plane around at last to return to Tokyo and a well-earned rest. Imagine the many flights that follow, the eventual proposal during a morning flight as the plane flies into a sunrise and all the passengers are asleep. Imagine a wedding that has more pilots than most airlines. Imagine the joy on the faces of the newlyweds and the drunken party that goes on late into the night in which the pride of Swiss Air meets the pride of Aeroflot as two pilots compete in pole dancing (that oh-so-important skill for people who fly airplanes). Imagine the long years afterwards – the travel, the adventures, the exciting new destinations and the interesting new aircraft. Imagine… the endless sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I admit that initially this was going to have a very different and very sad ending. And then I got all your nice comments and I felt really bad and then I thought "if this is a Cabin Pressure AU it has to end happily, right?" So instead I wrote the sappiest ending ever (probably). And I know that in real life they'd never get away with this...  
> Anyway, drop by sometime in the near future for a Devil Wears Prada AU (which I am aware someone has attempted before me, but I had a few ideas I really needed to write down) and a bad boy Yuuri AU.


	8. Epilogue: London City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise return of _Come Fly with Me_ for an epilogue!  
>  After people asked for a sequel I kept thinking about one. It was sort of always at the back of my mind and here it is now!

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we’d like to welcome you on board this flight from Moscow to Tallinn. This is Captain Victor Nikiforov-Katsuki and with me is my first officer Yuuri Nikiforov-Katsuki. We are just waiting for clearance for takeoff. Meanwhile we ask for your attention for this short safety demonstration video.” The Captain turned off the passenger address system and relaxed in his seat. He smiled at Yuuri.

“Pre-flight checks complete, Captain.”

“You don’t have to call me captain, Yuuri.”

“I do, actually. It’s in the regulations.” Yuuri smiled to show he was joking.

“Is that so, Mr. Nikiforov-Katsuki?”

“Yes, it is.” Yuuri tried to suppress the blush that rose to his cheeks, but it came anyway.

Aeroflot management hadn’t liked the idea of letting a married couple fly an airplane. Even Victor’s legendary pilot status wasn’t enough to persuade them. It took two years of good behaviour, coaxing and one small miracle from Yuuri for them to agree (all this after several years of them flying together when they were dating).

“Simon says call me Victor.”

Yuuri grinned. “Captain Victor, the pre-flight checks are complete.”

Victor laughed.

“AFL123, you have clearance for takeoff.”

“Confirmed, clearance for takeoff,” Victor repeated. “Do you want to take this one, Yuuri?”

“I’ll leave it to you, Captain Victor.”

They took off and Yuuri went through the post-takeoff checks while Victor flew the airplane.

He switched on the autopilot and said, “Simon says kiss me.”

Yuuri took Victor’s hand and kissed it. “Post-takeoff checks complete, Captain Victor.”

The flight deck door opened and one of the flight attendants came in. “Our special passenger refuses to listen to me, Captain.”

Victor donned his hat. “Alright. First officer Yuuri, you have control. I’ll deal with this.” He climbed out of his seat and leaned over Yuuri’s shoulder, resting one hand on it. “You have control and you have my heart.” He kissed Yuuri on the cheek and left.

The flight attendant led him to the first row where a five-year-old boy was jumping up and down in his seat.

“Good morning, Alexei. Why are you bothering the other passengers?”

“Papa!” Alexei wrapped his arms around Victor. “I got lonely!”

Victor and Yuuri had adopted Alexei four years ago. They often took him on flights with them. One time during a long flight from Moscow to Hong Kong Victor read a bedtime story over the PA system. Yuuri apologized to the passengers right after, but, oddly enough, no one complained. A couple of parents even thanked him.

“Your father and I are working,” Victor said, his hands around Alexei.

“You said we were going on vacation!” Alexei protested.

“After we land the plane and everyone gets off, we’ll be on vacation.” Victor crouched down to look into his son’s face. “Can you be on your best behaviour until then?”

Alexei nodded.

Victor smiled and went to talk to the flight attendant. “Let me know if he needs anything.”

She promised she would.

“Thank you. How is the special cargo?”

“It’s fine, Captain.”

“Good.” Victor thanked her and returned to the flight deck.

In the cockpit someone from Air Traffic Control was swearing in a loud and irritated voice at Yuuri. The first officer held up his hand to tell Victor he could handle it. Victor returned to his seat in silence.

“Storm near Tallinn Airport. Understood. Awaiting new flight vector.”

The traffic controller spat out another curse and gave Yuuri his new heading.

“What’s wrong?” Victor asked as soon as the controller directed his anger at another airplane.

“Everyone is under a lot of stress,” Yuuri said. “There’s a big storm and someone in ATC messed up.”

“They don’t have to take it out on you!” Victor protested.

“They don’t,” Yuuri agreed, “but they just did.”

Victor kissed Yuuri’s cheek. “Do you mind taking us the rest of the way?”

“Not at all, Captain Victor.”

Yuuri was a very capable pilot and so Victor didn’t even think things like “all our lives are in your hands” or “our son is on this flight”. He had faith in Yuuri’s abilities.

“Is Alexei bothering someone?” Yuuri asked.

“He promised to be on his best behaviour,” Victor smiled and put his hand on Yuuri’s shoulder. “Everything will be fine.”

Yuuri nodded. He was calm. When under a lot of pressure his anxiety seemed to disappear to be replaced by confidence. It was a quality Victor admired in him.

It took Victor some time before he learned to deal with Yuuri’s anxiety. Too often he would wake up in the middle of the night, Yuuri’s head buried in his chest, and feel how much Yuuri worried over every little thing. He had to gently coax him out of it every time.

_“I’m not good enough for you,” Yuuri whispered one night and Victor wondered where he got that one from._

_“That’s not true. You are the best person I ever met.”_

Victor often thought that he was the one who wasn’t good enough for Yuuri, but could never find a way to explain why he felt this way. Too often someone, whether a flight attendant or just a person they’d casually meet would flirt with Victor, completely ignorant of the fact that his husband was right there, witnessing the entire exchange, and never once did Yuuri say anything. The first time it happened Yuuri smiled and joined the conversation when politeness allowed. He reached for Victor’s hand and Victor soon learned what to do in such situations.

“I’m sorry,” he would say, “my husband and I are running late. Thank you for reminding me, Yuuri.” He’d smile and the two of them would be on their way.

Yuuri flew the plane and Victor forgot about the passengers, which was so easy to do in a flight deck with just the two of them, and kept one eye on the instruments and one eye on Yuuri.

_What have I done in my life to deserve such bliss?_

 

After the plane landed and everyone left Alexei burst into the flight deck to join his parents. He found his fathers standing in front of each other with their hands behind their backs. He already knew this game and waited for the next part.

Victor and Yuuri produced a bouquet of flowers at the same time, exclaiming, “Happy anniversary!”

Alexei laughed and clapped his hands. Victor held a bouquet of white roses and Yuuri – red ones. They exchanged flowers and left the plane.

Alexei liked leaving the airplane last. He got to sit in any seat he liked while he waited and sometimes he’d sneak around between the seats when no one was looking and pretend he was on a secret mission. He watched his parents exchange big smiles as they walked through the duty free and knew what that meant.

“They have white Toblerones, papa! Can I have one, please?”

Victor laughed. “Right now, you can have anything you want.”

Aha! So they _were_ in a good mood. He was right. “Can I have a pony?”

“Only if your father allows it,” Victor answered.

Yuuri laughed and picked Alexei up. “How will we take it on the plane?”

“Phichit told me about cargo airplanes. You can fly one of those and we can have a whole dozen of ponies!” He waved his arms around to show that a whole dozen was a lot of ponies.

Victor joined in the laughter. “What will you do with a whole dozen?”

Alexei considered this seriously for several minutes. “I can give some to my friends.”

Victor’s phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and declined the call without even checking who it was from. He smiled at Yuuri and Alexei.

Next it was Yuuri’s phone’s turn to ring. “It must be urgent,” he said, lowered Alexei onto his feet and pulled it out.

“Yes?” He balanced the phone on his shoulder, holding his bouquet in one hand and Alexei’s hand in the other.

Alexei looked up into his father’s face and watched him frown.

Victor stepped up to him, but Yuuri gave him a look that made him stop.

“We are officially on vacation,” Yuuri told the person on the phone. “We aren’t on call.”

Alexei wondered what on call meant and then turned to his papa to ask him. Victor held up a finger to ask for silence.

“We are celebrating our fifth anniversary today,” Yuuri explained. “And our son is here. No, one of us can’t go. Both of us can’t go. Yes, even if we get our son to come with us.”

“Is something wrong, papa?” Alexei asked. When father spoke in that tone it usually meant he was very upset.

Victor’s eyes sparkled. “No, your father will take care of it.”

“Where?” Yuuri clutched Alexei’s hand tighter. “If you promise – ah – hm.” He nodded and then hung up. “Victor,” Yuuri said, putting his phone away, “Alexei, how do you feel about celebrating in London?”

“Why?” Victor asked.

“They urgently need two pilots to fly into London City Airport,” Yuuri explained, “from Helsinki.”

Victor nodded.

“But there are so many pilots!” Alexei exclaimed. “Lots and lots! And you promised me a vacation!”

Yuuri smiled down at Alexei. “You get a better vacation this way: we’ll take a boat to Helsinki from here and then fly to London and we’ll have lots of fun there. We can go to that place you always wanted to visit. And I bet the ferry ride from Tallinn to Helsinki will be great.”

 

London City was an airport with a tricky landing, but, luckily, one in which Yuuri was well trained. That was the main reason they got pulled in and, of course, the other reason was that the two pilots who were supposed to fly there were too busy being reminded of everything they’d eaten the night before.

Alexei sat in business class where the other passengers eyed him in surprise. Of course, on a flight to London City, _everyone_ was in business class.

“Where are your parents, little boy?” one particularly snotty-looking old man in a suit asked.

“They’re flying the plane!” Alexei exclaimed in delight, raising his hands in the air. It was his favourite question. He loved boasting about his fathers.

“Are they really?” the snotty man tried to laugh it off. And then he made the mistake of deciding to be cute. “Do you want to be a pilot when you grow up? Do you want to sit at the front and control the plane?”

“Papa says it’s not called the front. It’s called the cockpit or flight deck. And I don’t want to be a pilot. I want to be an astronaut! I’m going to fly to Mars!”

The passenger’s eyes went wide at this announcement and Alexei laughed at how funny he looked.

Someone cleared their throat and Alexei turned to see his father standing over him. “Father! When will you land the plane?”

“In 40 minutes.”

“Young man, are you really the boy’s father?” the passenger asked.

“Yes, is he bothering you?”

Alexei opened his mouth to protest, but the man spoke up first. “I just don’t think children should fly business class is all and _especially_ if they’re not supervised all the time by a parent or guardian.”

Again Alexei wanted to argue. He’d been on lots of flights on his own (with his parents flying the airplane) and he was just fine!

Yuuri turned away and smiled at Alexei. “The airplane is full, unfortunately, or I would’ve asked for a different seat for you.” He put his arms around his son and added, “But maybe you’ll feel better if I tell you that papa said that the lemon is in play.”

Alexei nearly jumped out of his seat. A mischievous grin appeared on his face. The Travelling Lemon was his favourite game. Chris (a pilot from Swiss Air) taught them all how to play it. The rules were very simple: player A took a lemon and then hid it in plain sight and then player B would have to go find it and hide it again. So far their record was 25 rounds in one flight.

It was easy for Alexei to find it the first time: it was sticking out of the snotty man’s bag at his feet. He waited for the man to look away before snatching it out and then hiding it again. He asked the flight attendant to tell his parents that it was their turn.

They went for all the usual hiding places, but mostly they kept slipping it into the old man’s bag. Suddenly the game wasn’t so much about finding somewhere new to hide it, but about slipping it in or out of the man’s bag without him noticing. The flight attendants were all in on it and they helped distract the old man.

As the plane got closer London, more and more of the passengers were watching the game with interest. There was even a bet going among several of them whether or not the old man would realize what was going on around him. Whenever someone decided to complain, or protest, or just point out to the old man what was happening, the others would find a way to quieten them down.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are now beginning our descent into London City Airport.” Half the passengers let out a loud groan. “Please fasten your seatbelts in preparation for landing. Thank you. Oh, and Alexei: 26! Congratulations!”

“Yes!” Alexei exclaimed happily and beamed at the flight attendant as she walked by. She put her hand over her mouth to suppress her laughter.

One of the flight attendants gave Alexei a high five and Alexei noticed that he was on a plane almost completely full of old men and women in suits who were laughing themselves silly. It was the best start to a vacation he ever had.

 

Mr. Smith was having an awful day. First, his flight was delayed by half an hour, because of something to do with the pilots (he wasn’t really paying attention when they announced it). Then he had to sit next to some kid who was flying without any adult supervision and his parents were the pilots! He spent the whole flight wondering why the passengers kept laughing and decided that the world had completely lost its mind.

_It’s all this modern music_ , he told himself. _I always say it’s going to lead to no good._

For some reason when everyone got off the plane, they all thanked the kid next to him as well as the crew. He, on his part, barely acknowledged the crew’s good-byes with a nod.

He rushed on, not having any time to spare and afraid to miss his meeting. People in the hallways kept turning around and staring at him. Some of them pointed and laughed. He ignored them.

To his great luck, his baggage came quickly. He grabbed it and ran.

And so, after a taxi ride filled with blissful silence and no annoying chattering from the driver at all, he arrived at work with 15 minutes to spare.

He headed for the men’s room.

After washing his hands he raised his eyes and caught his reflection in the mirror and in that moment he knew why people had laughed.

“That stupid kid!” he exclaimed and swore.

There was a lemon taped to his hair.


End file.
